the GLOBAL MANATEE MISSION 2011-2012

Friendship

2012-01-15T19:30:00.000-05:00

This month's Book of the Month represents friendship as explored through the gift of the Yoshino cherry blossoms from Japan to the United States in 1912. Celebrate the 100th anniversary of this gift through riddles and facts found in the book. Watch the author, Corky Hay DeSimone, talk about her book on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3E-d5PaIqhs, CHERRY BLOSSOM FRIENDS.

Ask our students what facts about the Washington, D.C. Tidal Basin they recall. Visit D.C. With your child. It is a most remarkable city and makes me feel proud of America and our history when I visit there. Visit the monuments from Roosevelt to Lincoln to King to Washington. Explore past wars and the lives who died for all of us. Visit Arlington National Cemetery and pay thanks to those who died for our freedoms.

Our Books of the Month promote school friendship and advance common conversations around one topic. Join in on one with us!

Drops in Our Buckets

2011-11-16T09:17:00.000-05:00

While the photo at the left may look like a wild camera shot, if you analyze it with us, it tells an amazing story at Enterprise Learning Academy this month.

From left to right, the paper leaves on the edge of the photo represent 1,501 A grades that students earned during our first grading period. The efforts of teacher and student brains combined are shown by a leaf that represents not only a high grade, but a tree planted in the Amazon countries for each A by business partner Fazzinni's Coffees and Teas. Brains for a purpose!

Moving left to right in the center of the shot are piles of food, donated cans and boxes, to feed the hungry donated into the community by our school's Student Council Association and distributed by SECOND HARVEST. Leadership for a purpose!

To the right of that, only a partial pile of recycled bags of paper donated by every student. With a pizza party at stake, provided by our Green Team Champions at GCA Custodial, 4 classes came in with the most donations Byerly/1, Johnson/2, Pazhisawmy/3 and Hamilton/5. Recycling for our planet!

So many drops in our buckets for providing good deeds and kindnesses to others and others giving back to us truly gives a solid meaning to the way we relate to others. Our front lobby provided the evidence of loving and learning at Enterprise Learning Academy!

2011-10-22T17:50:00.000-04:00

GUEST READER

Dr. Don Horner, liaison to Jacksonville Mayor Brown, entralled kindergarten and first grade students Friday, October 21st. His rapid humor and engaging voices kept students excited about the written word. Thank you for being a Manatee for the Day at Enterprise, Dr. Horner.

Open House 2011

2011-09-24T14:39:00.000-04:00

OPEN HOUSE, 2011

Thank you to P.T.A., S.A.C. , our teachers, parents and students who made attendance at our September 20 and 22 Open Houses record setting. Pictured right are cardboard students awaiting their parents in Mrs. Kelley's and Sims' kindergarten class.

After we ALL sang the school song and applauded ourselves, we visited classrooms and spoke with teachers to get a send off for the GLOBAL MANATEE MISSION. We have great expectations for the year, including increased student achievement, higher test scores and doing good as well as doing well in school.

We look forward to your journey with us as the year rolls into October already! Have your child tell you about Rosalinda in the book of the month, UNDER THE LEMON MOON and ask for their first progress report Tuesday, September 27th.

Help Grow the Tree

2011-09-17T16:59:00.000-04:00

The front lobby now hosts a new tree. This tree awaits one leaf for every A an Enterprise Learning Academy student earns each grading period. When the first report cards go home in early November, we will host the first grade level Awards Ceremonies. Thank you to Business Partner Fazzini's Coffee and Tea for planting a tree in a needy country for every A our Manatees earn. Study hard, do your homework and read daily!

Make Us Mobile

2011-09-11T16:42:00.004-04:00

Want to generate bar codes for your child's class web site or other faves? Go to http://qrcode.kaywa.com/ and enter other web addresses. Make us mobile so you don't miss one manatee minute! Use your cell phone to scan our digital signature above to link right to our school web site:http://www.duvalschools.org/enterprise

The Enterprise Man-a TREE Project

2011-08-17T11:47:00.001-04:00

Every A earned by an Enterprise student this year, EVERY A, will have a tree planted by business partner, Brock Fazzini, with Fazzini's Coffee and Tea.
(pictured left with 2nd grade teacher Weaver)

As part of the GLOBAL MANATEE MISSION (GMM) this year, students need a global perspective in order to be prepared as a global citizen. The Global Manatee Mission (GMM) combines teaching ideas with web research to bridge geographic gaps, allowing our students a taste of different lands and cultures. In May we come together to share what we have learned in an

International Festival.

GMM allows students opportunities to partner with schools, communities, countries, businesses and other organizations to become literate and responsible global citizens and to weave new knowledge with the Duval County Schools’ curriculum.

The match with Fazzini's is a perfect one to help students reach across continents to help others while learning at the same time. For over twenty years, Trees for the Future (TREES) has worked with communities around the world to integrate trees into agricultural production.

Let's do the math! 800 (plus) students times 6 subject areas that can earn an A or E = 4.800 potential As times 4 grading periods equals 19, 200 trees. Our students can help help communities replenish their natural resources by providing materials and training to allow farmers to sustainably grow crops for food, fodder, and fuelwood.

Won't it be fun to see how many trees are planted in your child's name recognizing their student learning achievements? You can cheer them onto learning success and environmental protection for future generations at the same time!

Thank you Mr. Fazzini!

2011-2012 Just Around the Corner

2011-07-21T17:06:00.000-04:00

Get ready to travel internationally with the manatees.
In a connected world, students need a global perspective in order to be

prepared as a global citizen. The Global Manatee Mission (GMM) combines teaching ideas with web research to bridge geographic gaps, allowing our students a taste of different lands and cultures. In May we come together to share what we have learned in an International Festival.

Our custodians, office staff and administration are busy preparing for your return. See who your teacher is on August 18th and come meet him or her on August 19th at 2 PM. School starts Monday, August 22nd. Wonder what country your class will be representing this year?

2010-2011

2011-06-03T11:23:00.001-04:00

We did it! We set a goal for reading a total of 45,000 books as a school. Guess what? We exceeded our own expectations and read 71,000 books. As a reward, students will get to water ballon me, the principal. Last year I was slimed (see earlier blog post). That was disgusting, but worth the glee on children's faces for meeting a goal. This year I must dodge and dash 900 water balloons. I hope it's a hot day and the water feels good soaking me. It's amazing what it takes to get children to read, right? Remember when we cried if we didn't have anything to do and a parent said "Go read a book?" Now a child has to have an electronic device to access the book. Wish I was in the battery business . . .but the one I'm in is so much more important. I'm off to read a book!

Old, but amazingly fits us this week!

2011-05-15T15:00:00.000-04:00

Science: It's just not fair

BY DAVE BARRY

(This classic Dave Barry column was originally published March 22, 1998.)

TODAY'S TOPIC FOR YOUNG PEOPLE IS: How To Do A School Science Fair Project.

So your school is having a science fair! Great! The science fair has long been a favorite educational tool in the American school system, and for a good reason: Your teachers hate you. Ha-ha! No, seriously, although a science fair can seem like a big ''pain,'' it can help you understand important scientific principles, such as Newton's First Law of Inertia, which states: 'A body at rest will remain at rest until 8:45 p.m. the night before the science fair project is due, at which point the body will come rushing to the body's parents, who are already in their pajamas, and shout, `I JUST REMEMBERED THE SCIENCE FAIR IS TOMORROW AND WE GOTTA GO TO THE STORE RIGHT NOW!' ''

Being driven to the store by pajama-wearing parents at the last minute is the most important part of any science fair project, because your project, to be legal, must have an Official Science Fair Display Board. This is a big white board that you fold into three sections, thus giving it the stability that it needs to collapse instantly when approached by humans. The international scientific community does not recognize any scientific discovery that does not have an Official Science Fair Display Board teetering behind it; many top scientists fail to win the Nobel Prize for exactly this reason.

Once you have returned home and gotten your display board folded into three sections (allow about six hours for this), it's time to start thinking about what kind of project to do. The prize-winning projects are the ones that clearly yet imaginatively demonstrate an interesting scientific principle.

So you can forget about winning a prize. What you need is a project that can be done at 1 a.m. using materials found in your house. Ideally, it should also involve a minimum of property damage or death, which is why, on the advice of this newspapers legal counsel, we are not going to discuss some of our popular project topics from previous years, such as ''What Is Inside Plumbing?'' and ''Flame-Proofing Your Cat.'' Whatever topic you select, your project should be divided into three parts: (1) The Hypothesis, (2) The Part That Goes After The Hypothesis and (3) The Conclusion (this should always be the same as the Hypothesis).

The hypothesis -- which comes from the Greek words ''hypot,'' meaning ''word,'' and ''hesis,'' meaning ''that I am looking up in the dictionary right now'' -- is defined as ''an unproved theory, proposition, supposition, etc., tentatively accepted to explain certain facts.'' For example, a good hypothesis for your science fair project might be: ''There is a lot of gravity around.'' You could prove this via an experiment in which you pick up various household items such as underwear, small appliances, siblings, etc., and observe what happens when you let go of them. Your conclusion would, of course, be: ''There is a lot of gravity around.'' This would be dramatically illustrated in your science fair exhibit by the fact that your Official Science Fair Display Board was lying face down on the floor.

If that project sounds like too much effort, you might consider duplicating the one that my wife swears she did in the 7th grade late on the night before the science fair. It was called ''Waves,'' and it consisted entirely of a baking pan filled with water, and a pencil. ''You swished the pencil around in the water, and it made waves,'' my wife explained.

I asked her what scientific principle this project demonstrated, and, after thinking about it for a moment, she answered: ``The movement of the water.''

Impossible though it may sound, I did a project in 6th grade that was even lamer than that. It was called ''Phases of the Moon,'' and it consisted of a small rubber ball that I had darkened half of by scribbling on it with a pen. You were supposed to rotate the ball, thus demonstrating scientifically that the phases of the moon were caused by, I don't know, ink.

The total elapsed time involved in conceiving of and constructing this project was maybe 10 minutes, of which at least nine were devoted to scribbling. But it still might have been a success had it not been for the fact that some of my fellow students found it amusing to snatch up the moon and throw it, so that it became sort of a gypsy exhibit, traveling around the Harold C. Crittenden Junior High School gymnasium, landing in and becoming part of other projects, helping to demonstrate magnetism, photosynthesis, etc. So my project ended up being just a sign saying ''PHASES OF THE MOON'' sitting on an otherwise bare naked table, the scientific implication being that the moon is a very moody celestial body that sometimes gets in a phase where it just takes off without telling anybody.

Of course, if you want to get a good grade, you have to do a project that will impress your teachers. Here's a proven winner:

'HYPOTHESIS -- That (Name of Teacher) and (Name of Another Teacher) would prefer that I not distribute the photo I took of them when they were `chaperoning' our class trip to Epcot Center and they ducked behind the cottage-cheese exhibit in the Amazing World Of Curds.'' Depending on the quality of your research, you might get more than a good grade from your teachers: You might get actual money! Yes, science truly can be rewarding. So why wait until the last minute to start your science fair project? Why not get started immediately on exploring the amazing world of science, without which we would not have modern technology. Television, for example.

Let's turn it on right now.

Putting a Toe On It

2011-04-14T16:24:00.000-04:00

I broke my great right toe last week. I wish I could say it was from skydiving or rescuing an animal or child or even mashing grapes. Alas, it was from preparing for a Prep Rally, a moment to inspire young students to reach even deeper within themselves to show us what they know on a mandated state test,FCAT. We did that. We cheered, sang, screamed, made noise, danced and high fived one another with all we could muster. We added inspiration to our perspiration and hope it all makes a marvelous mixture of student gains in test scores.

Back to the broken toe. It has given me much pondering time because it seems while my toe is exponentially smaller than the rest of me, it hurts like nobody's business! If I ice and elevate it, it starts to recover...how often have you ever seen your school principal with her foot in the air in a resting position? This from a person who hardly gets a lunchtime.

What it has taught me is, if you work with an A Team of teachers and staff, like I find myself among, work goes on around me! THANK YOU A TEAM! It also reminds me just how important it is to have some reflection time. Time to appreciate good health, a happy place to get hugs and get well letters and time to contemplate life after FCAT.

It is time to honor our volunteers in a MANA-TEA April 15th, time to prepare for a Super Science Fair, time to show off our physical skills during Field Days and time to get back to teaching for the fun of learning.

Community Counts

2011-02-27T15:42:00.001-05:00

Thank you to the Jacksonville community who answers our calls for participation and interaction with our school community. Most recently when we celebrated the book of the month, SALT IN HIS SHOES, about Michael Jordan, we hosted a basketball game. We invited any JACKSONVILLE GIANTS players to join us. We did not hold much hope since we had invited JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS every year and they have never visited. The students and faculty were screaming with manatee glee when two Giants' players, Graham and Lumpkin, each took a team and played in the game. Many students got autographs and a free game ticket after the game. (Funny, how teachers always win.) Thank you Giants!

As we move toward PTA (another all volunteer group!) carnival time, March 19th, we invite vendors to support on fund raiser. This year we hope to earn enough money to purchase playground covers to shade students on hot sunny Florida days outside. A big round of applause to iHop Restaurant on 103rd Street who will provide ALL the food for this event! For a full listing of our business partners, please visit our school web page at http://www.duvalschools.org/enterprise/partners.htm

It does take a village to raise a child. THANK YOU!

Satisfying Our Learning Curiosities

2011-01-15T17:11:00.000-05:00

We're off to a Science Fair
Working Our Way to Awards on May 19, 2011

Science can help us answer the questions we don't know the answers to. It allows us a structure and format to have fun while uncovering new data all at once. So let's put our manatee brains to work on a Science Fair! The purpose of the science fair at Enterprise Learning Academy is to encourage students’ interest in science, to develop their inquiry and investigation skills, and to enhance children’s pride in completing research projects. Teachers will guide us through each step so we will know how to do it by ourselves if we ever have a Science Fair again. Scientists follow these steps . . .

They set a PURPOSE:
A question or statement stating what you will try to find out with your experiment. Here's what I was curious about: I was wondering if I took my jelly beans to the ocean with me if they would lose their color in salt water.
HYPOTHESIS: Your prediction of the experiment outcome. Hmmmm, I am hoping salt water does not cause my jelly beans to lose color because I especially like the red ones.
PROCEDURE: Experimenting and observing. I will ask Mom first if I can test my jelly beans at home before we go to the beach.
DATA GATHERING: Collecting information and results. I will sharpen my pencils, have my digital camera ready, and will take notes on what my jelly beans look like before, during and after they are in salt water.
RESULTS: Finding out what the experiment proves-
It will take me several weeks to get my research and materials together to test my curiosity about jelly beans.
CONCLUSION: A summary of what your experiment shows and how your work can be used for more research.
I could share my photos and taste findings with my friends at Enterprise, I'll bet they will be surprised with what I discovered.

We invite your support and participation in satisfyinmg our learning curiosities this spring!

'Tis the Season

2010-12-14T13:36:00.000-05:00

The Enterprise Learning Academy Holiday tree is decorated with something unique this year! Students have created ornaments and on each written the phrase "I am good at . . " It is often hard to capture the good in ourselves, others or the season, so with the teachers' help we have discovered that within each of us is a strength, a skill, a special trait. Explore at home with each other what the special trait is for everyone in your family.

Some of the discoveries in strengths research include:

• When students were praised for good work in a math class, they improved their performance by 71%. In contrast, criticism led to an improvement of only 19%. These findings inspired the hypothesis that individuals, and possibly organizations, have more potential for growth in areas of strength than areas of weakness. (Hurlock, 1925)

• People who report “having the opportunity to do what they do best every day” are 44% more likely to succeed on engaging customers and retaining employees and 38% more likely to succeed on productivity measures. (Gallup: Harter & Schmidt, 2002)

• High school students who learned their strengths and used them showed significant increases in self-efficacy, empowerment, and self-perception. (Donald Austin, 2006)

• College students who learned their strengths and how to use them showed increased self-confidence, direction, hope, and altruism. (Gallup: Hodges & Clifton, 2002)

• Students learn more from strengths-based teaching strategies. It increases their levels of academic engagement, objective test scores, and quality of a public speech. (Cantwell, 2008)

• Students whose strengths and talents were identified perceived they had more control of their academic futures than students who did not know their strengths or talents. In addition, students who actively developed their strengths are more likely to set learning goals and have a growth mindset than students whose talents are identified but not developed. (Louis, 2008)

During the hustle bustle of the season, find one of your own strengths and give yourself a pat on the back for those things you do best and right! We all have something "we're good at!" May your winter holidays be merry and bright!

Thank you to our Enterprise fans and families who make our school rock!

Just Whistle a Happy Tune

2010-11-13T17:54:00.004-05:00

On some school days we are frazzled by yet another state mandated test or torn in half when we have to cut teachers we love over budget struggles or hammered by one more report due "yesterday." Then some days we just whistle a happy tune and remember why we got into this business in the first place.

We realize in the words of John Kennedy that

“Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future”

We know that learning CAN be fun. We understand children need to laugh and love to relieve the stress of life too. So on somedays, we just dress up and have a parade . . and the Principal plays along dressed like the school's mascot, a giant manatee! But then we're shaken back to reality's accountability . . .this was the culminating event, a Vocabulary parade, for the MISS ALAINEUS book of the month and the many new words we learned together as a school. Wait until you see the December book of the month . . . it's about reindeer . . . oh my!

2010-11-06T21:33:00.000-04:00

The November Book of the Month for ELA is MISS TIZZY and is a perfect selection for celebrating World Kindness Week. Miss Tizzy comes to life as she creates activities for boys and girls and get them to work as a team together whether cooking, sewing or marching. Do you know anyone like this? Someone who is a lover of children and entertainer as well? Our students seem to relate to MISS TIZZY and some even try to do kind things for others just like her.

Ms. Brown gave all the teachers a sock to create a sock puppet just like MISS TIZZY and the children do in the story. Some teachers have gotten VERY clever with theirs, If you'd like to make a sock puppet you might find this web site helpful Learn How to Make Sock Puppets Here.

Does anyone remember Shari Lewis? She was famous of her hand puppets, especially Lamb Chop. She has a TV show in the 60's. Does anyone remember watching her?

Hac=ve fun spreading kindness, always.

Learning New Words!

2010-10-10T16:34:00.000-04:00

Helping children build their vocabulary is both a gift and a responsibility of teachers and parents! That's why this month's Book of the Month is such and important learning tool. Ask your child what new word we learned and used repeatedely at school today.

Teachers use lots of graphic organizers to help students learn and use new words. The Frayer Model is a type of graphic organizer that helps students develop relationships and categories associated with vocabulary. It provides students an opportunity to explain and elaborate with examples their understandings of a concept, issue or word. The concept or word is entered into the central circle and supporting examples, explanations, etc and written into the boxes.

Download this MS WORD template and help your child build a vocabulary bigger than your own.

YAHOOOOOOOOO YOU!

2010-09-26T15:37:00.000-04:00

A big round of applause please for all our families that attended Open House. We had standing room only crwods both nights which goes a long way in dispelling the myth that people are not interested in schools! You got to experien a sliver of day to day excitement we enjoy at Enterprise, Exploring New Waters together.

We are soooo popular that 60 new students have entered our school over last year. Thus we have added 3 news teachers and had to move some students to new classrooms.

We have already had a September Flag raising and honored Manatee Students of the Month. We have given 12 positive referrals for above and beyond student good deeds and our first set of test data is in so we can best direct instruction based on each child's learning need.

Thank you for supporting the Manatees and keep those cards and letters coming!

Hands on Exploration

2010-09-06T12:41:00.000-04:00

This past week students in many classes joined their teachers in a hands on experiment that helps us better understand the meaning of EXPLORING NEW WATERS. Students, acting like scientists with many failures and successes, saw how a submarine stays under water and how an octopus can rise and fall in the water. We have discovered that there are many challenegs that face us when traveling underwater. But we agreed, we're up to the challenge and as classroom groups are encouraged by our undersea travels so far. Cooperation and synergy are two characteristics we are using on our explorations.

Manatees on a Mission: EXPLORING NEW WATERS: EXPLORING NEW WATERS Augsut, 2010

2010-08-22T11:13:00.000-04:00

Manatees on a Mission: EXPLORING NEW WATERS: EXPLORING NEW WATERS Augsut, 2010

EXPLORING NEW WATERS August, 2010

2010-08-22T11:11:00.000-04:00

Thank you to the many families who visited the Friday before school to meet their teacher and share their glee with returning to school. Our expectations for you are high and the learning will be rigorous and deep. So come prepared to grow your brain with a smile. We welcome new faculty members to third grade, Mr. Axe, to Music, Mrs. Sparks, to second grade, Mrs. Weaver and to Pre-Kindergarten, Ms. Van Nagel. Our building is sparkly and will be filled with the warm manatee hugs you love to come to school for. www.duvalschools.org/enterprise

Summertime

2010-06-23T07:14:00.000-04:00

While you're traveling, going to movies and wishing for more to do, we're getting the school back in tip top clean and shiney shape for you this summer. Our custodians are waxing and cleaning. Since we are a special needs hurricane shelter we start on the first floor in case a Hurricane comes along and we have to house people in the cafeteria. The we move to the second floor. It takes a very long time to clean each room!

The rest of use are making new class lists, filing old files and preparing for student and teacher return to the Enterprise.

Please keep reading EVERY SINGLE day so that you will have an active and alert brain when school begins again Augsut 23rd!

Principal Keeps Promise

2010-06-05T09:40:00.000-04:00

Free digital slideshow personalized with Smilebox

Poetry Power

2010-05-16T12:22:00.000-04:00

Enterprise students begin the art of presentation with poetry this week. We kicked off the Poetry Unit with national PUT A POEM IN YOUR POCKET DAY April 30th. Students have been introduced to many poetry genres and have entered a schoolwide contest. To hear the winning entries, please attend our Arts and Poetry Fest Thursday, May 27, 2010 at 6:30 PM. Refreshments, clay and framed art work and poetry readings will be available throughout the school. Help make this a great finale event for the year!

We have had several local poets perform for our students. Dorothy Fletcher, Knight Krawler and Dr. Nile Stanley inspired us with their original verse and music!

See a slide show of poetry presentations at http://www.duvalschools.org/enterprise/photos.htm

SPRING FLING

2010-04-27T16:35:00.000-04:00

When I was a sixth grade teacher in Virginia Beach, Virginia ages ago, I also supervised the Student Council AND was the PTA President the same year. (I must have been much younger!) As a result I have a deep affection for those who volunteer their time and are brave enough to serve in PTA for the social and emotional well being of students. In this day and age where schools serve in many ways to socialize children, PTA ROCKs!

Our Enterprise PTA is hosting their first carnival in years Saturday May 1st from 11am to 3 pm. http://www.duvalschools.org/enterprise/pta.htm

The hours these volunteers have logged preparing for this event is in the thousands. Every fingerprint you will see on this carnival is from the blood sweat and tears of their donated time. And every cent earned as profit goes back into buying school supplies for our students. Come support the event and ride the ferris wheel. As for me, I already had my turn in the dunking booth long ago, so I'll be throwing the balls not swimming back to the top.

The first 135 days of the mission

2010-03-20T09:30:00.000-04:00

As we move into the final 45 days of the school year and enter Spring Break, please take a moment to think about the amazing space we have covered together since August 24th!

Our mission has taken us into new brain stretching territory often using new technological computer based tools to find our way. Kindergarteners have learned to make letters into words and fifth graders have learned how to solve complicated problems in science and math. Students have been assessed regularly so that we can guide our instruction to meet their needs.

As a school family we have grown in our community of friendship and sharing. Does your child talk about the LEPRECHAUNS or FCAT Buddies? Do you hear them say "Synergize" or "CHAMPS?" If so we are all using a common school language together. Our school pride and value added learning are things around which we are proud.

Thank you for joining along on our mission. Have a great rest as we dock the Enterprise April 1-11 for spring break. Come back refreshed to tackle Fields Days, a PTA Carnival, school wide Poetry Learning Unit and the final 45 days of an action packed curriculum of reading, writing and thinking!

Smilebox Photos of Life AT ELA

2010-03-09T13:31:00.001-05:00

Another photo slideshow by Smilebox

New Playground for Tinier Legs

2010-02-26T11:50:00.000-05:00

Pre Kindergarten students cut the ribbon on their newly installed playground this week! After we released balloons to the wind, we celebrated with juice boxes and chocolate chip cookies. There's nothing like the excitiment of a 3 and 4 year old running and playing.

We are the CHAMPions

2010-02-07T11:56:00.000-05:00

CHAMPs is a schoolwide behavior management system created by Dr. Randy Sprick. We use it throughtout out whole school. CHAMPS is an acronym.

C stands for Conversation
H stands for Help
A stands for Activity
M stands for Movement
P stands for Participation

You have numbers assigned to each of these activities and students know if you say C- voice level 1 that means that your conversation is a whisper level. 0= no talking and so on. Our whole school uses it. Ask your child about CHAMPs at ELA.

All Together Now

2010-02-06T17:21:00.000-05:00

On Monday we cheer on our 4th graders for the FCAT WRITES EXAM. Help cheer them on with us:

2-4-6-8
What's the score we want to make?
1-2-3-4
Thats the score, 4 or more!
Whan I say 4, you say more
4
more
4
more

When I say 4 you say more
4
more!

Students can score from 1-6 on the FCAT Writes. Using their engaging beginnings, juicy words, smooth transitions, a variety of sentences and focused on the topic, our students will bring it home for ELA!

2010-01-30T10:05:00.000-05:00

Mini Pianogreat free widgetsWidgetboxMore info

Data on the Enterprise

2010-01-30T09:53:00.000-05:00

Who? What? When? Data!

I'll bet you're thinking we've gone a bit overboard on the ENTERPRISE. What's a picture of Star Trek's Data doing here? Data serves as the teacher's guide mascot in our Mission Control data room. This is a room where we tear apart, scrunch up or fuss over all the numbers that come at us from right, left, state, federal and your children every day! It used to be we gave a test and the child got a grade, that was it . . . .we know better now! Educational best practices tell us to analyze a child in 3-D! We look at all pictures of a child's performance whether attendance numbers, tardy and early check outs, quizzes, presentations, interactions with others, physical education performance and more.

School wide data at ELA shows student gains have been made in reading, math and science since school started for students in all grades. What we must do is plot those gains against the school wide goals we set for ourselves to achieve national and state performance levels. This varies, but falls somewhere around 70-75% of all students working at grade level and making an A, B, or C in every subject area. Some subcategories of testing do not yield as high of results as others. For instance, Earth and Space Science and Scientific Thinking are lower than physical and chemical science test results. Multisyllabic words are lower for students in some grades than others or algebraic expression tests high in one grade but low in another. We attempt, in the limited time we have, to dialogue with one another to make changes to instructional practices that will help learners go deeper in those areas of need or to enhance learning for those students who already grasp the concepts.

You can track how your child does in daily progress in all subjects. Just sign onto https://mygradeportal.com/login.aspx and find your child's class, webpage and grades. Oops, if you have not gotten your user name and sign on yet, contact the school office and we can share it with you or the next time you visit, come by the office so we can issue that private sign on information to you in person!

Manatees on a Mission aboard the Enterprise, thrusters up to FCAT starting with Wirting February 9th!

SCA Officers elected

2010-01-16T14:46:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to the following students who were voted by their peers in grades 2-5 Friday.

President Dwayne Ross
Vice President Jack Shack
Secretaries Kevin Broderson and Trey Rahme
Treasurer Nadia Fung
Historians Ricky Flores and Kiara Burney

Campaiging students posted two hand made creative posters and spent $10 to campaign for their office. After campaign speeches on WELA Friday, January 15, 2010, students voted and the ballots were tabulated by the firm of Abruizzo, Dul and Penn.

At their first meeting students will receive instruction in the rules of Parlimentary Procedure and leadership skills. Students will set their first service project and school spirit week activities as well as determining a fundraiser to fund a year end gift to the school.

These students will guide the first ever Student Council at Enterprise under the supervision of teachers Mrs. Carneal and Ms. Luvisi.

A Guest Visits the Manatees

2010-01-12T15:06:00.000-05:00

January 12, 2010
Author-illustrator Chris Soentpiet visited our school today. Students were enthralled, engaged and excited as he took them through the steps of how he illustrates a book. Mr. Soenpiet has authored 20 books and offered books and prints for sale--- lots of us bought them. You can see his work at http://www.soentpiet.com/.

Chris uses digital photography to capture human poses before he painstakenly handpaints his characters. He paints the background first and then fills in each character because each one has a separate personality.The hih caliber of his presentation and the details he described kept us enraptured during his presentation. Thank you PTA for treating is to this special occasion! Be sure and ask your child about it today!

To The Future and Beyond:Manatees on a Mission

2010-01-10T15:38:00.000-05:00

To The Future and Beyond:Manatees on a Mission

2010-01-10T13:32:00.000-05:00

Here they are, our first Student Council representatives. Many have chosen to run for an SCA office this week. We look forward to announcing President, Vice President, Secretaries, Treasurer, Historians and Sergeant at Arms at the Flag Raising January 19th. Having a student voice at ELA will add to our growing, learning and leading! I am so proud of our faculty and students for making this a new and vital part of our school life.

I hope everyone had a memorable and family centered holiday! Happy New Year!

Building Leaders

2009-12-12T17:15:00.000-05:00

One of my goals as ELA's Principal is that students have opportunities to grow in their own leadership skills. Student leadership development is the process of involving students in meaningful ways both in and beyond the classroom. It is providing opportunities for students to demonstrate their talents, skills, and interests while continuing to grow academically. It is also about giving students more ownership of the school they attend. Enterprise is embarking on the creation of its first Student Council Association. Teachers Mrs. Carneal and Ms. Luvisi will supervise this undertaking and kick off the election of Student Council representatives and officers in January, 2010. This will add to our growing list of ways we encourage and build new leaders.

ELA has sponsored a Safety Patrol and WELA Studio TV crew for years, now we will focus on additional opportunities for students to lead others through a Student Council. Why is this an important component in a school? Each school functions just like a community. We have hundreds of students, all from different backgrounds, with different beliefs, different values, and different abilities, all coming together with different foci in life. All these students come to school to learn, but also to be accepted by their peers in everyday social processes and to be heard. Student Council will serve as another way for students to voice what they are learning is right and responsible.

The SCA Advisors have planned parliamentary procedure and leadership development activities for these student leaders. As the organization grows based on school wide student input, activities will evolve that serve the school and community.

read more . . .http://www.nasc.us/s_nasc/index.asp

http://web.naesp.org/asca/ascaorderform.php?UID=2009121217101071.199.241.143

SCHOOL OF THE MONTH

2009-12-05T18:47:00.000-05:00

Above you see 5 of the 6 people who maintain our school's facilities for safety and cleanliness. From left to right, Mr. SPiro, manager from the GCA Company who the Duval County school employ to handle custodial positions. Next is Mr. Arthur McMillan, Lead Custodian Virginia Terrell, Day Custodian Francine Catchings, Sara Dorvilus and in the back Jay Catchings.

GCA holds high standards for our buildings and expects you, the stakeholders, to expect to walk into a clean and shiney building with sparkly windows and for your child's restrooms to be clean and well stocked. We know you want them eating at clean cafeteria tables and to be in as disinfectant an environment as possible for a school with lots of coughs and sneezes! This is the team that does it and we appluad them daily. When you see one of them, shake their hand and say thank you!

Tis the Season

2009-12-02T22:54:00.000-05:00

Enterprise is celebrating our SILVER PACKAGES BOOK OF THE MONTH by decorating the holiday tree in the front lobby. When you come to PTA Tuesday, 12/10, for the Cocoa and Caroling event at 6 PM, be sure to look at the handcrafted ornaments by students on the tree.

The character trait we are all attempting to demonstrate this month is kindness. Whether it's a smile from a cafeteria worker, a beep of the bus horn by a bus driver, or the custodian who bends over to help us pick up things we dropped, we are surrounded by kindness and attempt to spread it among our friends. Come be a part of the bountiful holiday season of love and learning with us!

Be sure you look at our class websites by visiting all our Class web sites-wow, we're busy!

Thankfulness

2009-11-25T07:12:00.000-05:00

First Graders Make Us Smile

The life of a pumpkin will never be the same to you after watching this show of life in first grade with Ms. McHenry's and Ms. Ehlinger's Classes.

Silver Packages

2009-11-22T08:23:00.000-05:00

In an email message from a friend: "It's 4am in Pikeville, KY. Most everyone is still asleep, but Santa and about 100 workers, media and volunteers are getting ready to head to the Shelby Yard to start up the 67th Santa Train - 114 miles to Kingsport for the Christmas Parade at 3pm and plenty of stops and goodies along the way."

This is today. . .real life events, in a few states away, bringing happiness and mystery to Applachian children. Our November-December Book of the Month captures the essence of kindness and unselfish giving as relayed in the story of the Santa Train.

My parents were raised in east Tennessee and I was born in Maryville, TN, so my southern roots relate to this story and whisper to me, "remember the season every day."

SILVER PACKAGES was written by Cynthia Rylant and elegantly illustrated by Chris Soentpiet (the same guest illustrator visiting our school January 12th). The book is a great story with a surprise twist at the end. Have you discussed it with your children. We had Dr. Burton from Avecina Medical come and read the tale to students on WELA. Can they tell you why we had a doctor read them the story?

This narrative truly reminds us to express kindness to others, whether we know them or not , in order to feel even better about ourselves . . .stop by school and read the story in our front office if you dont' have one, better yet, purchase one and wrap it in tin foil and give it to someone else this season!

Second Grade Karate

2009-11-19T10:30:00.000-05:00

Second graders in Mrs. Barnhardt's Class had the opportunity to practice safe karate moves in class and to practice the discipline it takes in this sport,

Butterflies

2009-11-19T06:55:00.000-05:00

The newest school citizens are beautiful Monarch butterflies from the bus loop garden designed and built by teacher Ms. Sorensen. These visitors love the flowers provided but they don't hang around with us before flying away to new adventures. PTA and SCA help fund this beautiful project where we have monthly flag raisings.

Aboard the Enterprise

2009-11-18T20:38:00.000-05:00

The manatees of Enterprise Learning Academy have set forth on a new mission for 2009-2010-heading for Planet 525 FCAT A. We hope you join us as we pursue safe travels among curriculum and social behaviors or exceptional scholarly value on all planets.