Florida Standards Assessments
Well, it is hard to believe but it is that time of year. Florida Standards Assessment (FSA) has arrived and our students are well prepared for this round of testing. Our fourth and fifth graders "kicked off" the testing season with the FSA Writing test on Tuesday, March 6th. We are so proud of all our fourth and fifth grade students and all their efforts during testing. Thank you to all our parents for making sure your child was on time to school and in attendance on the day of testing. We had a very smooth writing test administration due to your cooperation.

Testing Schedule
Although testing takes place after spring break, I wanted you to be aware of the upcoming testing schedule. The testing window runs from Tuesday, April 9th through Friday, May 4th.  We will be conducting make-up testing throughout the testing window. There is a daily FSA schedule attached to this newsletter for you to reference. Third, fourth and fifth grade students will be administered FSA in reading and mathematics. Our fifth graders will also be taking the science portion of the FCAT 2.0 on these days. The FSA is designed to measure benchmarks on the Florida Standards and FCAT 2.0 measures science benchmarks on the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards. We appreciate all the hard work our students and teachers have put forth in preparing for this assessment.  

Success Factors
We know our students will be successful test takers not only because of what takes place at school, but also because of the support they receive from home. Thank you in advance for assisting us by ensuring your child is present and on time on the days of testing. Please make sure that your child gets plenty of rest the night before each test, eats a good breakfast each morning or arrives on time to eat breakfast at school, maintains a calm home environment and receives encouragement from you to do his/her best. If your child wears glasses, please ensure they have them on all days of testing. All students that arrive on time and take the test with their assigned teacher for all days of testing will receive an ice cream treat.

 
Testing Days
On testing days, we begin our school lock-down (no hall movement, no visitors, and no classroom interruptions) at 8:45 a.m. Students who arrive after 9:00 a.m. may sit in the school office until all testing is complete. While only 3rd, 4th and 5th grade students are testing, we are using classroom space all over the building including the media center. Several classrooms will be testing for extended periods of time for our students who receive accommodations. Please be sure your child does not have any appointments during this time. We will not be able to remove your child from a classroom to leave since it could invalidate the tests for other students in the class or area. Our lunch and special area schedule will also change on testing days for most grade levels. We will not be able to accommodate any parents for lunch. We also ask that visitors refrain from coming to school on the days of testing.  

No Early Release Dates
Please be aware that March 7th, March 28th and April 18th are full days of school and students will not be released 1 hour early to provide more time on the FSA test for our students with unique accommodations.

 
Black History Month
Our 5th grade students recently participated in the city of Ocoee's Black History Essay Contest. The topic for the essay was "The Dream Begins with Me." Congratulations to Tison Waters (1st place), Karishma Khusial (2nd place), and Asia Roberts (3rd place).

Special Events
The Book Fair will be open from March 6th through March 9th. Students with money can shop during the school day and with a parent only in the morning and after school. Field Day is scheduled for Thursday, March 15th.  Kindergarten through 2nd grade participate from 9-11 am and 3rd - 5th grade participate from 12-2 pm. We have a SAC meeting scheduled on Monday, March 12th at 6:00 p.m. in the media center. As you can see, there are many opportunities for you to support Citrus Elementary this month. Please take a moment to check out the events on the calendar and if you are able to volunteer for Field Day please let the office know or sign up on the ADDitions website.

Spring Break
Thanks again for your continued support of Citrus Elementary and enjoy your spring break holiday. Students are off from school from Friday, March 16th to Friday, March 23rd. School resumes on Monday, March 26th.  

Delaine Bender Principal

Jose Gonzalez Assistant Principal

Pictured very top: Congratulations to the Citrus Chess Club Team! They participated in a chess tournament on Saturday, February 10th at SunRidge Elementary. All chess club students participated and practiced for the upcoming chess tournament in May. Pictured at the top are the Chess Club Team and Mrs. Tabora, sponsor.