P ATRIOT P RESS The

Dear families,

March is upon us with the feeling of spring in the air! Love to see the blooms of spring

and the pops of color starting. Students and teachers continue to work hard and push

forward. We are learning and growing and having a great time doing both!

March is a busy time to be a Charger! This week, we look forward to Beauty and the

Beast, Jr. performed by our middle school chorus class. So much time and effort has

been given to make this production one to remember and we can’t wait! Our 7th grad-

ers will be experiencing our state’s capitol and the legislative process with a field trip to

Tallahassee later this week and our 8th graders are getting ready to travel to Washing-

ton, DC to spend a few days in our nation’s capitol. Whew! Our middle school is busy.

We are so proud of our 4th through 8th graders for great effort on the FSA Writes test

earlier this month. Students put all their learning into this writing assessment! Well

done. Be aware that after spring break, we continue with our state testing. Be sure to

watch for testing dates and times for your child so that they are here and ready to

show what they know!

We are excited about our increased area for bike racks at the front of the school. Many

thanks to our district maintenance staff that poured additional concrete to house our

many bikes. This increased area allows for students to safely get their bikes with a bit

more room to maneuver around. It keeps our school looking neater our front as well!

Please be sure to join us on March 20 for our SAC meeting where we will have Beth

Sweeney, district legislative liaison, give us a briefing on the new laws signed into ac-

tion during this last session and how they will affect our schools. We begin at 3:30pm

in the media center. This meeting will prove to be very informative as we move forward

into this coming school year.

Wednesday will be WALK UP day at Patriot Oaks. If you did not have a chance to read

the email this weekend from me, please do so that you know the message that we will

teach on Wednesday. We feel that helping all students to feel connected and cared for

is the best way to enact change in our schools. I invite you to discuss WALK UP with

your children and challenge them to be a GOOD CHARGER and make a difference

here at their school.

As always, we thank you for your continued support of our teachers, staff and our

school. What an amazing team we make for children! Enjoy your Monday!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Olson

Patriot Oaks Academy Newsletter March 9, 2018

IN THIS EDITION:

Important Dates

Good Chargers

Honor Roll Correction

Legislative Update/SAC

Registration Info for 5/6/7/8 Grade

Rezoning Information

Summer Marine Science Program

2018-2019 Extended Day Regis-tration

8th Grade Gradventure

MathCounts Competition

Yearbook

Thank You

Moving? Lease Expiring?

District History Fair

K Registration

Important Bus Information

CCU/Christian Chargers United

Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast

Beauty and the Beast Jr. Musical

MS Football Tryouts

Absentee Notes

JU Summer Soccer Camp

Building a Tradition of Excellence, Together! GO CHARGERS!

Principal’s Post

Tues., March 13: MS Performance of Beauty and the Beast Jr, 6 pm

Thurs., March 15: MS Performance of Beauty and the Beast Jr, 6 pm

Thurs., March 15: Spring Pictures and last day of 3rd Quarter

Fri., March 16: No School—Teacher Planning Day

Fri., March 23: Report Cards Available on HAC

Mon., March 26 through Fri., March 30: Spring Break

Mon., April 2: Classes Resume

IMPORTANT DATES

Congratulations to the following good Chargers for the week of

February 26: Claire Ayanleke, Kyra Brenneman, Reagan Bushman,

Gabi Camero, Milo Conn, Molly Coolican, Katie Doyle, Brandon

Elliott, Connor Gillam, Will Hart, Jacob Hicks, Jack Hunter, Quinn

Kiley, Victoria Lagunovich, Lindsay Leonard, Alex Miller, Tommy

Novelli, Evan Ostrout, Sophia Provisero, Rohan Sangani, Ashlea

Stanley, Malia Thomas, Sophia Walls, and Hayden Wagner-Welch.

Congratulations to the following good Chargers for the week of March 5: Micaela

Caballer, Milo Conn, Avery Dixon, Caden Drigger, Charley Galloway, Drake Groeteke,

Alex Harbert, Jacob Harvey, Brinley Millsaps, Ariella Mustike, Braxton Neniger, Isha

Obulareddy, Ian Ortiz, Lily Perlmutter, Lauren Prangley, Wyatt Reiff, Johanna

Restrepo, Jake Rodenbarger, Daniel Shaw, Ashlee Stanabeck, Matthew Tabor, and Jill

Ursem.

GOOD CHARGERS

HONOR ROLL CORRECTION

Our sincerest apologies and a great big congratulations to 7th grade

student, Jill Ursem , for making the A/B Honor Roll for 2nd Quarter.

Due to a computing error, her name was left off of the original list

published in the February 23rd newsletter. Great job , Jill!

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE TO BE PRESENTED AT SAC

Beth Sweeny will be at the March 20th SAC meeting at 3:30 pm in the media center to give the most recent

legislative update.

ATTENTION CURRENT 5th, 6th, 7th, & 8th GRADE PARENTS

8th GRADE GRADVENTURE

8th grade GradVenture bus money is due

to Mrs. Vaughn by March 15th.

REZONING INFORMATION

Applications for the summer Marine Science Program were passed out at all schools during the week of February 12th. Applications were due back to science teachers by February 28th . Applications can still be downloaded at any time from the website prior to April 15th at http://www-grms.stjohns.k12.fl.us/ and click on the Marine Science link. The link also will have a complete day by day curriculum for each grade level, parent information, and a video from last year’s program. This summer program is available to all students currently in grades five through seven and has been sponsored by the school district since 1982. Three eight day sessions are held at Gamble Rogers Middle School with bus transportation provided. The dates for the three sessions this summer will be May 29th through June 7th, June 11th through June 21st , and June 25th through July 6th. Small classes of 12-14 students are separated by grade level. All instructors in the program are St. Johns County School District teachers. The Marine Science Program is a carefully designed experience for responsible students who are interested in learning about our local marine environments. Learning is “hands on” in the field with students kayaking, canoeing, boating, hiking, snorkeling, sailing, windsurfing, surfing, SUP, (stand up paddleboarding), etc. Specific grade level activities and curriculum are attached to the applica-tions and are also available from the website.

More information about the program can be had by emailing marinescience@stjohns.k12.fl.us .

SUMMER MARINE SCIENCE PROGRAM

Extended Day Registration for the 2018-2019 school year begins March 15th. Please find the new 2018/2019 Extended Day Registration Form online, or you may stop by the Front office for a copy. If you have any questions, please contact the Extended Day Coordinator for more information. Office phone (904)547-4059 or email Katherine.m.brant@stjohns.k12.fl.us

EXTENDED DAY FOR NEXT YEAR

THANK YOU!

Once again we say thank you to our staff, students and community for

their generous donations to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

We were able to collect $875.42.

MATHCOUNTS COMPETITION

Moving?

Don’t forget – if you move out of our school zone, you must stop by

our front office and fill out a withdrawal form. We cannot drop your

student nor release records to the new school until we have this

form.

Also, if you will be moving out of our school zone over the Summer,

please let us know as soon as possible so that we can adequately plan and, again, have

proper withdrawal forms ready to go.

Lease Expiring/Renewing?

If you currently have a lease that will expire before the end of the

school year or during the Summer, you will need to provide us with

a copy of your lease renewal documents (plus current utility bills) in

order for your student(s) to remain enrolled at POA. If you move,

we will need to have copies of all your new residency documents.

PARENTS! MOVING OR LEASE EXPIRING?

YEARBOOK ORDER INFORMATION

EARLY KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION

Tues. March 13: 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Tues. March 20: 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Wed. April 4: 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Wed. April 11: 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Information on how to enroll your child in school can be found at the SJCSD

website: http://www.stjohns.k12.fl.us/student/enrollment/. Registration packets

are also available there. Look for additional information on the SJCSD website

regarding ‘Early Registration’ as it becomes available.

Please note: Per SJCSD policy, we will be unable to take your registration if

any of the required documents are missing or incomplete. All registration

forms must be filled out; all proofs of residency must be provided; the

school-entry physical must be dated 8/11/17 or later; all shots must be on

a FL 680 form and must be complete for entry into school as of 8/10/18 (if

your child is not yet 5 yrs old and does not have all his/her shots, you

must wait to register until all shots are complete). Information regarding

Kindergarten immunization requirements can be found here: http://

www.stjohns.k12.fl.us/health/immunizations/. If you have further questions on

immunizations or physicals, please call the SJCSD Health Services Depart-

ment: 904-547-7693.

DISTRICT HISTORY FAIR WINNERS

Meredith McDade and Helen Do, 8th graders in Ms. Vaughn’s class, won 1st place at the District History Fair in the Jr. Group Exhibit category. Mia Moore, also an 8th grader in Ms. Vaughn’s class, won 1st place for Jr. Individual Documentary. They will move on to compete at the Florida History Day competition in Tallahassee from May 6-8.

IMPORTANT BUS INFORMATION FROM THE DISTRICT

We are experiencing an increase in issues related to students riding district

school buses. These issues include children attempting to disembark buses at

stops other than their assigned stops, students ineligible for transportation ser-

vices attempting to ride home with a friend for a sleepover, birthday party, or

other personal reasons, and students eligible for transportation attempting to

ride a bus other than their assigned bus. In several instances, the students pro-

duced notes from parents/guardians authorizing the action.

Please remember that changes in bus transportation are subject to the rules of

the Provisional Transportation Waiver Program (PTWP) as posted on the district

website. Bus operators are not authorized to deviate from the established

standards. Notes from parents, guardians, teachers, staff, and/or administrators

will not supersede the standards. Once a violation is detected, operators are in-

structed to either discharge students at their assigned stop or return them to

school. Transportation intends to provide appropriate services in the context of

safety, security, and accountability considerations..

The full details of the PTWP can be found at: http://www.stjohns.k12.fl.us/transportation/ptwaiver/. You can also submit a waiver application from a link on that page.

CHRISTIAN CHARGERS UNITED (CCU)

All middle school students are invited to attend CCU’s uplifting morning gatherings each Wednesday

at 7:30 am upstairs in the middle school common area! Several relatable and talented high school stu-

dents from Creekside High School’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) lead the group in praise/

worship and short devotionals each week – providing great mid-week reminders to all who attend to

refocus, find encouragement, confidence and power in the truth, and to ‘be the light’ at home, in their

classes and in the world! All are welcome (still not convinced? We even have donuts!) No sign-ups

or dues – all middle school students are welcome!

Email Kristin Westberry

(Kristin.westberry@stjohns.k12.fl.us) or

Gene Eberhardt

(Gene.eberhardt@stjohns.k12.fl.us) with

questions or for more information!

SIGN UP DATES EXTENDED AND FREE SESSION!

VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION BREAKFAST

CHARGER FIT SIGN UP LINKS

MUSICAL

FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE….

Just a reminder that a note needs to be turned in to your child’s teacher within 24 hours

of your child returning after an absence. The note must have the child’s name, the dates

of absence, the reason for the absence, your signature and the date. For your

convenience, we have placed a “form letter” below that you can print and use by simply

filling in the blanks and sending it to school with your student upon their return to class.

SUMMER CAMP